# How are your side view mirrors positioned? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 21, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293 "2019-05-21T12:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/21 "2019-05-21T17:48:17Z")
My 2017 Nissan rogue has a system to detect a car in the blind spot. I think a lot of newer cars have that now. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/22 "2019-05-21T17:53:26Z")
I drove a rental car with the blind spot detection feature. But I noticed that it alerted me to cars in my blind spot that I was perfectly comfortable with passing, so it’s a little over-cautious. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/23 "2019-05-21T18:13:12Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Old school here, just a sliver of car showing. > > I won’t dispute that the alternate “mirrors outboard” method can work nicely, but I fear that if I modified something so basic about how I drive after 35 years of driving, I might be setting myself up for trouble. That’s essentially why I asked the question. I’ve been driving for 30+ years as well, and never had any blind spot issues (since I habitually turn my head and glance back). Even if I positioned them correctly, I expect that I’d still turn my head. But I am going to give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/24 "2019-05-21T18:31:53Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I’m pretty sure that was me! > > 🙂 No, it was me. [2005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6503780&postcount=4) [2007](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8268175&postcount=7) [2015](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18707009&postcount=31) [2017](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20111353&postcount=41) [2018](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21315392&postcount=42) I have to say that I’m very gratified to see all the people supporting the “no-blind-spot” method in this thread. As seen in several of the linked threads above, I have often encountered resistance to the method and rarely had many allies. Maybe my valiant efforts to fight ignorance over the last 14 years are finally paying off. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/25 "2019-05-21T18:32:08Z")
I always shake my head in disbelief when I notice another driver’s face in two different mirrors. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/26 "2019-05-21T18:36:38Z")
What I was told a couple of years ago was to lean to the left until your head is right over the edge of your seat. Position your driver-side mirror so you just barely see the side of your car. Lean to the right until your head is right over the edge of your seat. Position the passenger-side mirror so you just barely see the side of your car. Return to your usual driving position. Your mirrors are now correctly positioned. You no longer see either side of your car, and your blind spot is minimized. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/27 "2019-05-21T18:45:45Z")
Like others I want a tiny bit of the car showing. Otherwise I have no idea if it’s properly aligned or not, and if not then no idea how close what I see is to my car. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/28 "2019-05-21T19:11:00Z")
I already know what the side of my car looks like, I’m not wasting any valuable mirror space on that…I’d rather devote my entire mirror to other cars. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/29 "2019-05-22T01:27:32Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > No, it was me. > > [2005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6503780&postcount=4) > > [2007](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8268175&postcount=7) > > [2015](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18707009&postcount=31) > > [2017](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20111353&postcount=41) > > [2018](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21315392&postcount=42) > > I have to say that I’m very gratified to see all the people supporting the “no-blind-spot” method in this thread. As seen in several of the linked threads above, I have often encountered resistance to the method and rarely had many allies. Maybe my valiant efforts to fight ignorance over the last 14 years are finally paying off. May I, on behalf of the entire SDMB, thank you for fighting ignorance! This is the way I do it too. I do like to be able to see a sliver of my car, for example when backing up the length of a long twisty driveway. It helps gain a more accurate perspective. But I simply lean when I need to do that, which is perfectly practical. Normal driving including lane changing works very well with this method from the typical driving position. I think it’s safest, and also pretty easy. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/30 "2019-05-22T01:32:26Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Someone on the SDMB posted a few years ago that there is no such thing as a blind spot if you position your side mirrors correctly. Like your instructor, he said you should not see any part of your car. So I tried it. I moved the angle outwards and drove down a multi-lane road allowing myself to be passed by cars and in turn passing cars. What I discovered was that cars disappeared from my rearview mirror and almost immediately the nose appeared in the side mirror. Long vehicles were visible in the side mirror while still visible in the rearview mirror. This is the way I do it. Therefore, it is the correct way. It’s OK to have just a sliver of your own car visible if that makes you happy. Also, _move your fucking head_. You need to actually look around yourself from time to time. If your hair is glued to the headrest and you just move your eyeballs from side to side you’re not getting the full picture. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/31 "2019-05-22T02:31:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Like others I want a tiny bit of the car showing. Otherwise I have no idea if it’s properly aligned or not, and if not then no idea how close what I see is to my car. If you’re used to the “wide” setting of the mirrors, you figure out how to align them pretty easily as well and can tell if they’re misaligned or not. Look at all three mirrors from left to right. Do you see redundant information in them or not? If so, they’re not set wide enough. If you don’t see redundant information, do you see a gap, so they might be set too wide? I use my mirrors _a lot_, so it’s pretty clear when there’s an alignment issue. I want it so when I see one headlight on a car to the left or the right of me in my rearview mirror, I only want to see the other headlight in the side mirror. That said, it’s pretty obvious when the mirrors have been changed, as the only time it happens is when somebody else has been driving the car, and that’s pretty easy to see as I see the side of the car in the mirror. It’s not like the mirrors get randomly bumped and misaligned or anything. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/32 "2019-05-22T02:32:39Z")
Your instructor is correct. The side view mirror isn’t so you can see the back corner of your car, or the pavement. It’s to help cover the blind spot, so you don’t move over one someone when changing lanes. It can have the added benefit of shining the bright headlights of that truck hanging off your bumper right back into his vehicle cabin. But you didn’t hear that from me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/33 "2019-05-22T02:43:38Z")
At the end of the day, the safest is to do what you feel comfortable with. If you don’t understand what you’re looking at and the spatial relationship between the left mirror, rear view mirror, and right mirror when set to a “wide” position, then I prefer you to use what you’re comfortable with and what you understand, and do all the over-the-shoulder looks you need to do to get a clear sense of the cars around you when you’re passing/changing lanes. (And even with optimal mirror placement, you sometimes do have to look over your shoulder, like in multilane situations where somebody two lanes over might want to simultaneously try to change into the lane you want to change into. Mirrors don’t help with that.) ---
**Author:** ![pabstist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/34 "2019-05-22T02:47:37Z")
After too many times of adjusting the mirrors on my wife’s car when I drove it, I finally asked her why she had to see the same exact thing in 3 different mirrors? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/35 "2019-05-22T03:02:12Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > No, it was me. > > [2005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6503780&postcount=4) > > [2007](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8268175&postcount=7) > > [2015](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18707009&postcount=31) > > [2017](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20111353&postcount=41) > > [2018](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21315392&postcount=42) > > I have to say that I’m very gratified to see all the people supporting the “no-blind-spot” method in this thread. As seen in several of the linked threads above, I have often encountered resistance to the method and rarely had many allies. Maybe my valiant efforts to fight ignorance over the last 14 years are finally paying off. That’s cool man! I thought it was myself because of the wording of the OP because it’s almost verbatim for what I say to people and I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it on here before. "There is no such thing as a blind spot if you adjust your mirrors properly. Heck, maybe I just agreed with you in one of those threads and thought I said it. Hell, I don’t know, I was an incorrigible drunk for the majority of my existence here. I don’t remember shit! 🙂 > [@pulykamell](#): > > If you’re used to the “wide” setting of the mirrors, you figure out how to align them pretty easily as well and can tell if they’re misaligned or not. Look at all three mirrors from left to right. Do you see redundant information in them or not? If so, they’re not set wide enough. If you don’t see redundant information, do you see a gap, so they might be set too wide? > > I use my mirrors _a lot_, so it’s pretty clear when there’s an alignment issue. I want it so when I see one headlight on a car to the left or the right of me in my rearview mirror, I only want to see the other headlight in the side mirror. That said, it’s pretty obvious when the mirrors have been changed, as the only time it happens is when somebody else has been driving the car, and that’s pretty easy to see as I see the side of the car in the mirror. It’s not like the mirrors get randomly bumped and misaligned or anything. This is also actually a really good point. While I agree with the general consensus that it _ **is** _ safer to adjust your mirrors wide so you don’t see any of the side of the car thus eliminating your blind spots, if you’re not used to it, then it likely _ **isn’t** _ safer for you or your fellow travelers. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/36 "2019-05-22T12:35:41Z")
It is possible the make of car has something to do with this. I drive a VW GTI. My side mirrors show a sliver of the side of my car, but for the life of me, I don’t see redundancy. The center rearview mirror covers the entire rear window - pillar to pillar. Each side mirror immediately continues the view starting at the outside of the rear pillar. If I spread them wider, wouldn’t I miss a spot between the areas covered by the mirrors? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/37 "2019-05-22T14:12:05Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > That’s cool man! I thought it was myself because of the wording of the OP because it’s almost verbatim for what I say to people and I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it on here before. "There is no such thing as a blind spot if you adjust your mirrors properly. Heck, maybe I just agreed with you in one of those threads and thought I said it. Hell, I don’t know, I was an incorrigible drunk for the majority of my existence here. I don’t remember shit! > > 🙂 After searching for all of my posts that included the word “mirror,” I did the same for you because I didn’t want to unfairly deprive you of proper credit (and I was procrastinating starting my work day, as I am right now). Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn’t find any posts in which you explicitly supported the “no-blind-spots” method. You commented on the poor mirror visibility of Camaros in one of the the threads that discussed mirror settings, but that’s as close as you got. > [@pulykamell](#): > > At the end of the day, the safest is to do what you feel comfortable with. If you don’t understand what you’re looking at and the spatial relationship between the left mirror, rear view mirror, and right mirror when set to a “wide” position, then I prefer you to use what you’re comfortable with and what you understand, and do all the over-the-shoulder looks you need to do to get a clear sense of the cars around you when you’re passing/changing lanes. (And even with optimal mirror placement, you sometimes do have to look over your shoulder, like in multilane situations where somebody two lanes over might want to simultaneously try to change into the lane you want to change into. Mirrors don’t help with that.) > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > This is also actually a really good point. While I agree with the general consensus that it _ **is** _ safer to adjust your mirrors wide so you don’t see any of the side of the car thus eliminating your blind spots, if you’re not used to it, then it likely _ **isn’t** _ safer for you or your fellow travelers. Several people have said this in this and other threads on the subject, and really, people, it’s not that hard to get used to a new way of doing things. What really sold me on the method was observing how a vehicle I saw coming up behind me, on either the left or the right, was \*\*never \*\*out of my sight. It would begin to appear in the side view mirror just as it was disappearing in the rear view, and that by the time it was about to leave the side view, I could see it directly along side me through the window in my peripheral vision. Compared to the bad old way, where a passing car vanished into the blind spot, next to me but not visible in any mirror, it was clear how superior the “right way” was. I’m almost 64, and learned about this technique (probably from _Car Talk_) about 20 years ago, at which time I had been driving for almost three decades. It took a few days or a week to get completely comfortable with it. But it’s really not that hard to get used to, and the benefits are very much worth the effort. And there’s nothing stopping you from continuing to do the head twitch whenever you want. So give it a try, and stick with it for a week. The supposed downsides are overstated and it’s really not that hard to get used to. Like me, and many other posters here, and many other drivers around the world who’ve made the switch, you’ll get used to it and appreciate its advantages. Then you can become another proselytizer like us, and eventually we’ll take over the world! \*\*BWA-HA-HA-HAAA! \*\* ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/38 "2019-05-22T14:15:36Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Several people have said this in this and other threads on the subject, and really, people, it’s not that hard to get used to a new way of doing things. For some people, it clearly is. Not everyone has great spatial skills, so I am not convinced this is the best solution for everyone. Wide mirrors is the best solution for _me_, but just because it’s easy for me doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/39 "2019-05-22T14:24:51Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > It is possible the make of car has something to do with this. I drive a VW GTI. My side mirrors show a sliver of the side of my car, but for the life of me, I don’t see redundancy. The center rearview mirror covers the entire rear window - pillar to pillar. Each side mirror immediately continues the view starting at the outside of the rear pillar. If I spread them wider, wouldn’t I miss a spot between the areas covered by the mirrors? Next time you’re driving, just have a look at the mirrors and the cars behind and to the left or right of you. At no point should you be able to see the same car in both a side view mirror and the rearview mirror, except when it is in between the two mirrors, so you can get one headlight in one mirror, and the other headlight in another mirror. If I have my side view mirrors set to see the side of my car, I’m also seeing a lot of what is behind the car. I have to set them a good bit beyond where the side of my car disappears in the mirror to get a continuous panorama. Now, this does not mean that there is completely no blind spot. Obviously, if you have a gremlin on your rear door, you won’t be able to see it unless you move your head and body towards the mirror. But as far as vehicles go, you’ll see a part of the vehicle in the mirror. Maybe, just _maybe_ you can hide a daredevil motorcycle rider in that spot, but he’d have to be hugging the rear of your car pretty closely to hide in there. ETA: [Here’s a diagram of traditional vs wide settings](https://www.nevada-drive-academy.com/bge-mirror-setting). ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293/40 "2019-05-22T14:50:30Z")
Mirrors? Psssshhh. If you are behind me you don’t exist! 😉 Mine are adjusted so that vehicles on either side pass smoothly from one mirror to the next, always in view. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-your-side-view-mirrors-positioned/834293.md?page=3)